Opening Night Fall 2010

And what is with the announced intention to start Tues and Weds performances a half hour earlier (so they will start at 7) and to cut the intermissions from two to one? If NYCB wants to alienate young professionals, this is a surefire way to do it. It's impossible for young profs to get out of work early enough to catch a 7pm performance at Lincoln Center on a weekday.

I believe the half hour earlier start is 7:30 (instead of 8:00). I love the intermissions being cut to one. It's nice to be able to get home a bit earlier. I think the early start and finish will work great for some (like me). For people who find getting there at 7:30 impossible and but don't mind a late finish, the other nights are a better option. I think it's a good idea to offer those optionns

In the spring 2010 season, the weeknight curtains were at 7:30, with Friday and Saturday at 8:00. I don't know if that was the first time they had made that change, but it seemed like a good idea for people who had to get to work the next morning. It appears that opening the house one hour before curtain is new this fall, but that also seems like a good idea. Now people have time to get some refreshments, stop at the gift bar, find their seats, and browse the program, which was a rush before.

In view of the numerous discussions on this board of the fiscal problems in the arts, I've been impressed with the tremendous range of innovations for the fall season of NYCB -- artist talks, tours, half-price deals, etc., etc. It's as if their board and managers (and dancers?) had a productive brainstorming session and decided to try a huge number of new approaches to attract and retain loyal audiences. Good for them! That might be what it's going to take to survive for a great many companies nowadays.

I saw this afternoon's performance, which was introduced by Jonathan Stafford. Although he was quite charming, he really had nothing to say! What is the point of telling an audience of balletgoers that they should really enjoy these performances, and that Who Cares? is really fun because the music is by Gershwin? I think they should save these introductions for new, or special, performances.

I enjoyed the dancing, but the choreography of Namouna is a bit gimmicky. And although the speed is fun, a lot of the steps get mushy (except for Daniel Ulbricht, who has amazing speed!) It certainly paled in comparison with Who Cares, in which Balanchine just milks the music - the pas de deux with Tiler and Amar was fantastic. He does have a wonderful quality about him. Loved Sterling Hyltin, also, and although Teresa Reichlen danced very well, she didn't quite have the spark in her solo that I would have expected. Lovely turns, though.

I saw performances on Thursday evening, Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. I have to agree with the post above about J. Stafford. He had nothing of interest to say during the curtain speech. Janie Taylor improved on her Waltz Girl performance in Serenade on Sat afternoon. It was considerably better than on opening night. Megan also improved, but I agree with the post above that she is dancing small in this role. Bouder was excellent in Fall in the Four Seasons. I thought Veyette was pretty good, but there is definitely room for improvement. Tiler Peck was incredible in Who Cares. In my opinion, her rendition is better than anyone else I have ever seen in the role (Nichols, Weese, Ringer, to name a few). Her background in Broadway performance style makes a huge difference here. Amar Ramasar improved since I saw him last Spring in Who Cares. He was really stiff in this last year. It was good to see Nzmouna again. Most of the choreography still dazzles. Tyler Angle is not as exciting in the lead as Robbie Fairchild. The other leads (Whelan, Ringer, Mearns, Ulbricht, M. Fairchild and A. Stafford) were wonderful. I think I've seen enough of Interplay. It's one of those Robbins ballet I can withstand in small doses only. Chase Finlay did an excellent job in partnering S. Hyltin, but he had an unfortunate slip during his big jumping solo. (He did not fall, though.)

I went Sunday afternoon to see 'Namouna'--having missed it last year. It is a classic pastiche of a ballet. At first it looked like something Diaghilev would have done in the 1920's; then it appeared to be very Bolshoi--with the men dancing in a very virile way. The ensemble choreography rambled from Bayadere to Swan Lake to Corsaire---minus the oppulent scenery and costumes---a sort of leotard Les Sylphides. ---and much 'Bright Stream' humor thrown in. Most of the comments I heard around me were about the smoking. Did I like the work?--somewhat---with some trimming (it is an hour long) it could be part of a triple bill.

P.S. I did like Jonathan Stafford's speech---it is a good idea. Not too many people read about dancers or wait at stage doors to see them. It is a good way to connect with the audience.

I was at the performance Saturday evening 9/18. It was good to be at an all Balanchine night and I thought the performances good all around. Maria Kowroski was particularly fine in Monumentum/Movements.

I have a question about Duo Concertant. If my memory serves correctly the ending was a narrow spotlight center stage only on the two hands. The rest of the stage very black. The last couple of times I've seen it the spotlight seemed much wider and the background only semi dark. In my opionion this dilutes the effect. Is it just my mis-remembering?

As Canbelto said the corps danced very well all evening. Very disciplined, energetic and well spaced.

I think Danses Concertantes needs a more comedia dell'arte style than the performance on Saturday. I think McCauley is right the wit just wasn't there. Only the red pas de trois showed some signs of it. Partiuclarly Daniel Appelbaum.

The audience was more responsive than I have heard in a long time for a repetory performance. Lots of applause and cheering from the upper reaches. That's great!!! I may have enjoyed it more than the dancers. I think often NYCB audiences are too reserved. I'm not advocating applause in all the wrong places. As the comedian Dom DeLuise used to say "No applause. Save for the end." I wonder if perhaps some of the new initiatives like half priced tickets are beginning to draw a new audience.

I think it is the House that is opening an hour before each performance, however the performance times remain the same...Tuesday and Wednesdays have always been 7:30pm and Thursday, Friday, Saturday evenings curtain is 8pm. Saturday Matinee is 2pm and Sunday Matinee is 3pm. Having the House open is wonderful. Always hated feeling like a sardine in the lobby. Being able to use the facilities, order drinks/food and hear the wonderful trio playing upstairs has been a treat! Hope they keep this going.

I think it is the House that is opening an hour before each performance, however the performance times remain the same...Tuesday and Wednesdays have always been 7:30pm and Thursday, Friday, Saturday evenings curtain is 8pm. Saturday Matinee is 2pm and Sunday Matinee is 3pm. Having the House open is wonderful. Always hated feeling like a sardine in the lobby. Being able to use the facilities, order drinks/food and hear the wonderful trio playing upstairs has been a treat! Hope they keep this going.

I was referring to this NYT article, http://www.nytimes.c...y ballet&st=cse, which says that "At Tuesday and Wednesday performances, for instance, the number of intermissions will generally drop from two to one and the shows will start a half-hour earlier." I certainly hope they're referring to opening the house as opposed to beginning showtimes, because I will not be able to leave work early enough for a 7pm curtain.

I was referring to this NYT article, http://www.nytimes.c...y ballet&st=cse, which says that "At Tuesday and Wednesday performances, for instance, the number of intermissions will generally drop from two to one and the shows will start a half-hour earlier." I certainly hope they're referring to opening the house as opposed to beginning showtimes, because I will not be able to leave work early enough for a 7pm curtain.

The Times article is mistaken, or at least misleading. The schedules for the fall, winter, and spring seasons indicate that the Tuesday and Wednesday performances will begin at 7:30 pm, as always.

I got to see performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. I saw the pre-performance talk Thursday and Sat. They were pleasant and friendly, not truly informative. Daniel Ulbrecht on Saturday was very articulate, and overshadowed the shy Tess Reichlin partly by the force of his personality, partly with what he had to say. He's going to be a great teacher someday. His ambition for doing great things, spreading the word about ballet, and sharing information practically oozes out.

On Thursday, Karoui's pre performance performance was excellent, he overshadowed the orchestra and Martins, who was, as someone pointed out, kinda condescending with his clapping. Faroui connected his own (love for) smoking with the "Cigarette" sequence (the teasing, etc.) with subtle humor, a bit of sly cynicism and intelligence.

Performances on all three evenings were very good, especially The Four Seasons, both nights. The ceremonial roles were done with great dignity, which is always a kick. Both nights "Winter" and "Fall" were the standouts. I got the feeling that the young company is finally growing into the shoes left behind. Amar Ramasar seems to be maturing (his face looked thinner and more sculpted) and improving in technique, which I previously felt was a bit weak. And for me, Ashley Bouder is head and shoulders above the rest. She gave a little curtain talk (very little) on Saturday, mentioning the press' take on de-mystification, and insisting that the mystery will always be there, coming from within the performers. I think that for me, she shall soon equal Farrell and Nichols in beauty, technique, interpretation reliability, and, yes mystery (though in a different part of the forest from Farrell). I hope she will soon be given more roles that don't need cuteness. Maria Korowski, as always, was pure elegance, musicality, accuracy, calm and flexibility in Monumentum/Movements.

I was happy to see my fave rave ballet (guess which), but felt that Sebastien Marcovici, Janie Taylor, Rebecca Krohn seemed to be doing it by rote, and did not inhabit the music as much as I have seen it, and would wish it. Maybe after a few more performances they will get there. La Cour seems to be on the way. Taylor looked too pale, especially with bright red lipstick that emphasized her expressions of terror and frequent contortions of her mouth, as if it was very painful for her. It put me on edge. But that was a small complaint and did not diminish my joy in seeing such beautiful ballet.